JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last year, Cassandra Brown saw a woman she had known for years shoot a man right in front of her.
According to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report from June 16, 2024, Brown and another witness told investigators that they watched as the 57-year-old woman rode up on a black bicycle, pulled a gun out of a grocery bag and shot at the man at least four times before riding off.
She identified the shooter to police, according to court records, and Brown’s son told News4JAX she later testified at the shooter’s trial. The woman — a habitual offender, according to prosecutors — was found guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sentenced to 30 years in prison in January, court records show.
Last week, Brown, who friends called “Shorty,” was killed on the same block where she witnessed the shooting.
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Police said Brown was shot in the head while sitting in a chair on the sidewalk on Grothe Street during a Friday night block party where more than 100 people were gathered. A memorial with balloons, flowers and stuffed animals later appeared in the spot where she died.
Calvin Brown, Cassandra Brown’s son, who spoke to News4JAX from Texas on Tuesday, said he believes she was murdered in retaliation for testifying in the trial, and that she had feared for her life for weeks.
“My mom is not a random murder,” Calvin Brown said.
“The dude chasing my mama around my cousin’s car in that same location that she was shot and killed at now, he had came to our house, and this is why my mom packed up things and moved,” he said. “This individual came to my mama’s front door. This is the individual who said threats from the jailhouse that he was going to kill my mama and the other lady who witnessed it.”
According to Calvin Brown, JSO was called each time there was an issue with the individual, who News4JAX is not naming, and police reports were made.
News4JAX reached out to both JSO and the State Attorney’s Office regarding all of Calvin’s claims.
“This investigation is ongoing, and detectives continue to work diligently. Please note, next of kin notification was also made on this incident,” JSO said in a statement.
The State Attorney’s Office also responded with a statement.
“We have communicated with and met with Ms. Brown’s adult children about this case. However, this is still an active case in the early stages of the investigation,” the SAO wrote.
Calvin said he believes there should have been more protections in place for his mother.
News4JAX spoke with Crime Expert Tom Hackney and he said while there is protection for witnesses, the state level isn’t as robust as it would be for a federal trial.
“It would be some protection before or during a trial, even to the point of potentially providing some security for them at their location, but that all typically is surrounded with a trial, and once that trial happens, that coverage or protection usually kind of wanes away depending on the level of threats,” Hackney said.
Hackney said that when being a witness, you have to take into consideration that law enforcement can help with that protection. But, unfortunately, it’s not a lifetime level of protection.
“So you want somebody to come forward. And you know, law enforcement spent 30 years coming to the media saying, ‘hey, come forward if you know something,’ you know. But there’s a real-life aspect to that that exists, of there could be harm that you’re in the way of because of your testimony,” Hackney said.
Calvin said he spoke to his mother about staying away from the area after he learned of the altercations after her testimony, but he said his mom was strong-willed and happy.
“She said, ‘Baby, ain’t nobody going to tell me how I’m supposed to live my life, where I’m supposed to go, or where I’m supposed to be at’ and my mom has been that way her whole, entire life,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to call JSO at 904-630-0500, email JSOCRIMETIPS@jaxsheriff.org, or contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
